Background
Most claim that Çiçek was born as the daughter of an Anatolian Bey of Turkmen origin.
Most claim that Çiçek was born as the daughter of an Anatolian Bey of Turkmen origin.
Her ethnical background is a matter of controversy. She also had a brother named Ali Bey and a relative named Ismail Bey. According to other sources she was a Serbian princess who entered Mehmed II"s harem after the fall of Constantinople.
Mehmed II married Çiçek in some what 1458 at the age of fifteen.
According to Turkish tradition, all princes were expected to work as provincial governors (Sanjak-bey) as a part of their training. After the death of Cem"s younger brother, Şehzade Mustafa, he was assigned as the governor of Konya and Çiçek accompanied him.
After Cem"s first defeat in the succession war following his father"s death in 1481, the prince, Çiçek Hatun, and the rest of his household took refuge with the Mamluk Sultan in Cairo. Appointed by the sultan and ultimately loyal to him, a tutor"s primary concern was not always the success of his princely charge.
Of all the members of Cem"s household, Çiçek Hatun was his most devoted ally.
